Brought to you by Bayer Crop Science
Powerful and efficient weed control
"Clean fields and disease-free sugar beets are structural priorities for us. That's why we establish five or six beet trial plots each season, spread across the Netherlands. This not only yields important data, but also new insights and knowledge about the effectiveness of crop protection products each season."
These are the words of Joris van Ginhoven, Agronomic Market Developer at Bayer. At the end of October, he's making a quick inspection tour of a trial field near Dordrecht. "The beets are looking good here. Weed control has been successful, and we haven't had much trouble with Cercospora this year. I expect an above-average sugar yield here—just like elsewhere in our trial fields," he summarizes the season.
Betanal Tandem takes center stage
At the trial field in Dordrecht, which has been established within a practical field, weed control is the main focus. This mainly means that many plots with Payment Tandem with different dosages, mixing partners, and spray intervals. Although a great deal of knowledge has been gained about Betanal Tandem over the years, new insights are revealed each season, making the advice ever more precise and reliable. Flexible dosage (between 0,5 and 1,5 l/ha, red.) and the short spray interval (of 5 days, redAccording to Van Ginhoven, these are important "shifting options" that are highly valued in practice. "This allows us to still plan weed control effectively, even under challenging weather conditions. This offers additional certainty, especially for growers and contractors who need to spray larger areas."
Serenade in weed control
In addition to regular herbicide trials, this year for the first time tests are also being conducted with the addition of Serenade (as a foliar application) for weed control. The goal is to stimulate the root environment around the beets as much as possible, thereby boosting plant health and crop resilience. Although some small (positive) differences in biomass have been observed in the field, according to Van Ginhoven, it is still too early to draw any conclusions.
"Our main focus is on gaining knowledge about the potential of Serenade in beets. Can we benefit from this product in cultivation—particularly in terms of sugar yield? Could it be a weapon in resistance management, allowing us to keep important fungicides in use? As mentioned, it's still too early to draw conclusions, but we must already anticipate a future with fewer chemical agents. Serenade might then be one of the products that beet growers can benefit from."
Betanal Tandem in 10 points
- Betanal Tandem contains 200 g/l phenmedipham and 190 g/l ethofumesate. The dosage is the same as that of single-agent phenmedipham (160 g/l) and Tramat 200. This means 25% more phenmedipham is applied per hectare, making weed control even more robust and perfectly suited to (LDS) weed control.
- With the 2-in-1 packaging, less packaging is required than with the individual components.
- Betanal Tandem may be applied 6 times per season at a dosage of 0,5 – 1,0 l/ha.
- Higher dosages are also possible - up to 1,5 l/ha with 3 applications per season - if necessary in hardened conditions or with slightly larger weeds.
- The maximum amount that may be applied per crop year is 4,0 l/ha. This is more than sufficient to ensure effective weed control.
- With a spray interval of only 5 days, Betanal Tandem has a very practical label. If necessary, sprayings can be repeated quickly.
- Betanal Tandem is approved for use in beets across the board, including sugar beets, fodder beets, and red beets.
- The combination of phenmedipham and ethofumesate provides a very broad spectrum of action.
- Betanal Tandem is combined with metamitron and 1 l/ha Robbester or 1 l/ha Actirob B (or another vegetable oil) to enhance weed control.
- Betanal Tandem is easily mixed with all agents approved for beet cultivation, such as products based on metamitron, lenacil and dimethenamid.
